Inter|section gateways

The IBM Residential Gateway Initiative
The “Residential Gateway”
concept did not get a warm
welcome at IBM until the
name was changed to
“Inter|section Gateway”
and messaging stressed the
vision of an IBM-scale, multi-
billion dollar business.
The following slides are from
my early work on gateways
at IBM.
-- Wayne Caswell

Every now and then, a technology
or idea comes along that is so
profound, so powerful, so universal
that its impact changes everything --
• The Printing Press
• The incandescent Light Bulb
• The Automobile
• Manned Flight
It doesn’t happen often, but when it
does, the world is changed; forever.

This is how IBM’s Lou Gerstner
described the Industry’s move to
Network Computing (NC).

Computer industry Revenues were
about to crack $1 trillion mark.
• They will Grow by about $400
billion in the next 4 years, and
• Half of that growth ($200B) will
be in NC.
But this Growth could be Much
Greater, and the slow penetration of
home PCs & broadband services
stands in the way.

The Residential Gateway concept
helps Extend the Reach of e-
Business by moving towards
Universal Access.

This presentation focuses on the
Computer Industry view and “not”
the newly defined Entertainment-
Center PC, even though that device
“could” include gateway functions.
It describes IBM-scale Business
Computing Trends and the role that
Gateways can play.
It takes a Systems View of the
consumer household and the
Challenges faced there.
Then it introduce a specific kind of
residential gateway that resides
where the External & Internal
networks Intersect -- the
"Inter|section Gateway."
Finally, it explores the Opportunity
and Challenges that the gateway
market faces.

Network Computing, the Internet,
Standards-based Web Browsers and
the Java programming language are
revolutionizing the way we Work,
Play and Learn. The implications for
Society are profound.
IBM’s NC vision is well received, and
we are helping some 10,000
customers extend their reach in
Electronic Commerce with
Consumers.

Gateways will help Accelerate these
e-Business Trends and extend
beyond the 40% of US homes that
have PCs so the electronic
marketplace can Develop more
quickly. This will also increase the
demand for Enterprise Servers,
Storage, Software and Services.
• 'Net-based e-Commerce was $3B
in 1998, expected to grow to
$100B by 2000.
• If gateways can make this
happen just 1 Day Earlier, the
benefit is some $400M.
• If this can happen 6 Months
earlier, the benefit is $75B.
Internet makes Market Entry Easier,
and IBM's largest enterprise
customers see tremendous Value in
extending the Reach of their e-
Business applications to touch
Millions (or Billions) of people.

Internet makes Market Entry Easier,
and the Pace is Increasing.
Information assets (BITS) are
replacing physical assets (ATOMS),
and the 'Net is migrating from
BrochureWare used to market a
product -- to actually Defining the
product and its business model.
Service Bundling by 'SuperCarriers'
will be as revolutionary for telecom
as the concept of supermarkets was
to Grocery industry (butchers,
bakers, green grocer, etc.).
IP-based technologies such as VoIP
pose major threats to RBOCs and
minimizes the value of local and long
distance calling.
RBOCs aren't yet ready to compete.
New wireless technologies, such as
AT&T's PCS network and MMDS
microwave networks, make it
possible to Bypass the Local Loop
and gain access more quickly
And Ka-band Low Level Satellites will
start service late next year.

Technical turmoil in homes -- DVD,
DTV, DBS, RG-6 coax, Cat.5 wiring,
Fiber, etc. -- has caused a fear of
obsolescence and delayed adoption
of new products.
Consumers drive today's Information
Technologies, but:
•Only 40% of US HH had a PC in '96
(WSJ).
•About half had no plans to buy
one (IDC).
•<18% of PC homes are connected
to 'net or an online service, even
though 55% have modems and
80% of new PCs ship with one.
Along the Technology Acceptance
Curve, the PC hasn't quite made the
jump from Early Adopter to Early
Majority. That’s because of its
perceived Cost and Complexity, Lack
of Compelling Function to justify the
“pain,” and Fear of Obsolescence
caused by the Pace of technology.
This turmoil also affects other
consumer technologies, and
ultimately demand for mainframe
services and equipment.

To understand the Challenges we
face delivering Broadband
Communications “to” the home, it's
useful to Understand What's There
and How it Got There.
Generally, the Wiring (and even the
Devices) are Simple Extensions of
Separate Services
• The Lamp that plugs into a Wall
Outlet and the electric wiring are
extensions of the Electric
Company's service.
• The Phone wires (and the phones
themselves) access a Voice service
and support just two phone lines.
• And the Coax was designed for
CATV with about 50 NTSC
channels.
None of these services were
designed for Data.

So, what happens when you
introduce a new Digital Service?
Well, First you need new Wires.
• ISDN and ADSL data services, for
example, require Better Quality
Phone Lines (cat.5) from the
Outside to the PC.
• And Digital Satellite Services, with
Hundreds of channels, needs
Quad-shielded Coax. Subscribers
must install RG-6 between the
satellite Dish and Decoder Box.
You also need a Device to handle
Media or Protocol Conversion, and
maybe the ability to Split signals and
Route them to Multiple Devices.
• The Legacy Analog Devices can't
accept the Digital Signals, so a new
Modem or Decoder box is needed
-- for Each Device.

Some Gateway functions can reside
anywhere -- even in single purpose
devices like passive phone or coax
splitters.
• Amplifiers, Modulators, Modems,
and TV Tuners can be put in CE
equipment like VCRs and TV
decoders, Computers, and Security
or Structured Wiring systems.
But is “anywhere” the Best place?
• Communications carriers are
converging Telephone, Television
and Data onto a single “fat pipe” in
digital form and need a gateway
device to split the signals onto
separate networks that connect
analog or digital devices.
• Competition is bringing other
services (and media), which
introduces a need to select
between the different services.
The ideal location for these splitting,
selecting and converging functions is
where the Internal and External
networks “intersect” -- on an inside
or outside wall of a building -- in the
Inter|section Gateway.

Four scenarios to show how
Inter|section Gateways might be
deployed and used.
The “cloud” in the middle of the
chart represents the various
Network Services.
And the big Arrows represent
whether that scenario fits a “Pull”
business model where the consumer
decides on the equipment, or a
“Push” model where the decision is
made by a service provider.

Consumers and businesses with a
home office will buy gateways in a
"pull" model.
• Home Offices need more than 2
phone lines (Phone, Fax, Data).
• Multiplex phone lines over one set
of wires
• Bandwidth for Data access is
limited, so customers can't exploit
their fast modems (20Kbps vs.
28.8/33.6/56).
• ISDN requires the installation of
New Wires.

Where LANs are planned or in place,
the gateway can act as a Hub and
Communications gateway for PCs,
where it can Merge multiple
external services onto a Single
premises network and provides a
platform for CTI, a telephone PBX,
and video conferencing.
New "isochronous" LAN
technologies now meet QoS
requirements for Voice & Video.
Voice & Video over IP will find its
way into small businesses before
large ones because the technologies
are not yet ready to scale up and
support many users on one LAN.
Introducing these technologies more
quickly in home offices will
accelerate their adoption in the
enterprise.

As part of a communication
infrastructure, the Inter|section
Gateway helps service providers
reach new customers and lower
operating costs for existing ones.
It provides a platform for
differentiated services to generate
revenue and guard against
competition. These services include
CallerID, which can be displayed on
televisions instead of a special box.
The gateway also provides a channel
to communicate energy pricing
information from Utilities.
Just as with the cellular phone or TV
set top box, the gateway is provided
as part of a service -- a 'Push'
business model.
For gateways that include network
interfaces to multiple services, we
introduce the concept of an
Infrastructure Landlord – a custodial
service to handle problems and
apply enhancements. IBM could
serve as an infrastructure landlord.

When Multiple Services (MS) are
delivered over a single Multimedia
(MM) network, carriers need a way
of converting their digital signals to
analog and splitting them onto
premises networks.
Although this function could be
done anywhere, such as in a PC or
TV set top device, its ideal physical
location is where the external and
internal network(s) meet.
If the necessary conversions and
signal splitting/combining are done
in a gateway, information from one
service can be converged with
information from another for added
value, and the result can be
switched or routed to any
destination.

As we go digital, what about legacy
TVs and premises wiring?
An Inter|section Gateway could do the
analog and DTV tuning for ALL TVs
rather than having separate TV set-top
decoder boxes or each one.
It could reduce redundancy and lower
costs by combining the functions of
tuning, video decompression,
decoding, and amplifying ... not to
mention the power supply, cabinet,
lightning protection and other
electronics.
It could simplify physical connections
and channel selection and eliminate
“set-top clutter.”
It could extend the capacity of older
coax cabling since each cable only has
to carry viewed channels and not all
channels.
It could add value to legacy devices.
Even old analog TVs could display
hundreds of channels of analog or
digital content and gain features like
Internet TV, Caller ID, PiP, Parental
Control (V-chip), a home control user
interface, and other applications.

A gateway facilitating Network
Computing would enable universal
access to:
• Education -- for Life-long and
Distance Learning.
• Home Health Care -- because it’s is
the fastest growing part of
Medicare, with costs climbing
23%/yr, compared to 9%/yr for the
total Medicare program.
• e-Banking -- which is at the center of
e-Commerce.
• Travel -- with Smart Cards that let us
access our e-mail and NC
applications while on the road --
from the screen phone in the airport
or TV in the hotel.
• and Government -- since we have a
moral, legal and economical
Obligation -- to promote Universal
Access, especially for people with
limited resources.

Specialized / Simplified Computer
Customer & Servicer Access Areas
High speed Back-plane
Pluggable CEC -- Processor, Memory &
Control Logic (Bus Arbitration) with
Protected OS with Java VM
Pluggable Power Supply (optional
battery backup)
Slots for NICs -- (PCI bus) high-riser
Bus Arbitration
Fault Mgt. & Recovery
Firewall Protection
Central Mgt & Updates
Plug-in NICs provide Most of the
Function:
POTS, PBX, Cellular
xDSL, PCS, LMDS, PC LAN hub
Home Ctrl: X-10, CEBus, LON...
TV tuner / decoder, MPEG, parental
control, web browser
IR/RF Remote
Flexible, Scalable, Modular
Support Peer connection to
Distributed Gateways

Standards efforts must define two
kinds of standards:
• an Interface for plug-in NICs, so they
can work in various flavors of
gateways and communicate with
each other over a system bus such
as PCI, “and”
• an Interface for connecting Peer
Gateways to each other over
another bus such as Firewire.

Since competitors view gateways as
providing strategic leverage, they want
to own or control it. That can cause
political friction.
• Will a Cable or Satellite company put
its tuner card in a gateway managed
by a telco competitor?
• Will a telco put its PBX card in a
cable company gateway?
• What NICs will be “allowed” in the
box?
• And who will act as Infrastructure
Custodian, managing the network,
handling problems, and applying
enhancements?
• Is there a trusted 3rd party that can
fulfill this role? Can the RBOCs be
trusted for this? The electric utility?
The municipal Government? How
about IBM?
The gateway is a product “System” --
like an Automobile, where you also
need gas and oil, service mechanics, a
highway to drive on, and even rules of
the road.

Success of the Inter|section Gateway
depends on having the Vision to create
the business model, the gumption and
clout to tackle the politics, and the
conviction to endure the expected
critiques, like the Wright brothers.
If Orville and Wilbur were making their
historic first airplane flight today, the
Press would point out --
• that the brothers’ first effort was
postponed by bad winds,
• that construction of the plane was
months behind schedule,
• and that there was no real proof
that the consumers would ever be
willing to fly in an airplane, because
they
• already had good train & boat
service, where you could sit in a seat
instead of lie on your belly.

QUESTIONS?

Additional Slides
This slide describes an environment
where homes connect to multiple
service providers, each delivered over
separate networks.
As these service providers migrate
from analog to digital technologies
and gain the ability to carry multiple
services over their separate networks,
they fact the challenge of connecting
to the various legacy devices inside
without the cost and hassle of running
new cabling.
In the mid-1990’s, when these slides
were created, less than 55% of US
households had PCs. A gateway device
could be used to bring information
services to non-PC devices.

Additional Slides
Our early vision of a gateway device at
the intersection of premise and access
networks found several barriers to
deployment.
One was the political barrier of
expecting a service provider to rely on
a gateway that may be owned and
managed by a competitor.
Another barrier was the natural
logistics of where different access
networks connected to the home.
• Electric service almost always
connect to homes at the closest
point to the electric lines.
• Phone service historically entered
the home at the closest point to the
telephone: i.e. the kitchen.
• Cable TV service tends to enter
where the family TV is: in the living
room or family room.
• Terrestrial broadcast or Satellite TV
antennas are placed on the roof.
So in reality, there is no logical place
where all services connect, unless of
course they all come from one
provider.

Additional Slides
The Inter|section Gateway can ideally
benefit all sorts of market segments as
shown.
That’s why I promoted this concept
within IBM as a multi-billion dollar
opportunity.

Additional Slides
From IBM’s corporate perspective, it
doesn’t much matter what form factor
the gateway takes or whether it’s in a
TV set-top box, a PC, a stand-alone
device, or an Inter|section Gateway.
IBM benefits from increased demand
for information services, especially
those that rely on big, enterprise
computers.
Although IBM might be able to build a
business as Infrastructure Landlord, it
also benefits if gateways are deployed
by telcos, cable companies, electric
utilities, municipalities, home builders,
or consumers themselves.

Additional Slides
This slide summarizes issues raised at
a San Francisco roundtable.

Additional Slides
The tornado metaphor is from
Geoffrey Moore’s book, “Inside the
Tornado,” which was an extension of
his popular “Crossing the Chasm”
series and described the rapid growth
that occurs once a new technology
crosses between Early Adopter and
Early Majority market segments.

Backup Slides
This pictures a gateway prototype that
was built by IBM Microelectronics in
Austin. It had the required expansion
slots, based on PCI bus, and had:
• A Pluggable Power Supply would
allow for low wattage for small
devices or higher wattage if needed
• A Pluggable High-riser Bus could
support 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit (and
future 64-bit) architectures.
• A Pluggable Central Electronics
Complex (CEC) features a PowerPC
embedded processor, control logic,
and embedded OS.

Additional Slides
An Inter|section Gateway can be split in
two, with part if it inside the home and part
on the outside for easy access by service
providers. It does, however, need electric
power.
This illustration shows how several gateway
components (or separate gateways) could be
interconnected over a high-speed bus like
IEEE 1394 (aka Firewire).
The concept of distributing gateway
functions is not dissimilar to the concept of a
PC with expansion slots or that of a stack of
consumer electronics in the entertainment
center.

Additional Slides
The early gateway architecture, as
envisioned in EIA/TIA TR-41.5
standards, contained two sets of
expansion slots : one for service
providers and one for premise
networks. Consumers would only be
able to access the premise network
cards.
This design splits the gateway
functions into physical boxes, one
mounted on an outside wall, and a PC-
based box that could be mounted
inside.
Conceptually, the consumer could
access and configure either portion
with any web browser and would not
need an attached keyboard and
display.

Additional Slides
Here’s one way that multiple service
providers could participate with their
own gateway device.
In reality, we may never see this.
There’s a natural monopoly once one
provider delivers multiple services
over their high-speed broadband pipe.
The cost of building an overlay
network keeps competitors at bay, and
even if new entrants appear, the
efficiencies of bundling make it easy to
adjust prices to keep out competitors.
The biggest natural monopoly, due to
its superior bandwidth is fiber optics
(i.e. fiber-to-the-home, or FTTH).

Additional Slides

After disappointing sales for the year, IBM Microelectronics
pulled funding from a home networking system-on-a-chip (SOC)
design that would have paired an embedded PowerPC processor
with memory, control logic, a power-line modem based on
HomePlug, a wireless modem based on HomeRF, and a phone-
line modem based on HomePNA.
We had envisioned putting all of that function on a small circuit
card that could be put into a familiar form factor such as shown
in this physical mockup.

Additional Slides
My vision for SOC development was to
create a line of thin service gateways
and companion adapters that could
communicate over power-line
(HomePlug), wireless (HomeRF), and
cat.6 cabling (Ethernet or 1394).
The previous slide showed a familiar
form factor of a surge protector with
embedded electronics that could put a
phone or Ethernet outlet anywhere
there was need for a phone, PC, or
Internet-connected TV.

Additional Slides
Slides like this one show forecasts of
gateways, home networks, and PCs.
Missing from this is a high-level view
of how such growth affects service
providers and their demand for
enterprise-scale IT equipment, as well
as the many other beneficiaries in the
circular value chain (from a previous
chart).

Additional Slides
Although market researchers like In-
Stat, Forrester, and Parks Associates put
the RG market forecast in the Billions, I
was more aggressive in describing the
opportunity.
Note that there’s a difference between
opportunity and forecasted and actual
deployments.
Understanding that difference, and the
market drivers and inhibitors, is what
helps a company maximize its
capabilities by exploiting strengths,
addressing inhibitors, and partnering
where needed.

Additional Slides
UTEL’s gateway was like a home PBX
that did not rely on phone wiring but
that could put an RJ-11 or RJ-45 jack
anywhere it was needed.

Additional Slides
General Instrument’s gateway was a
TV set-top box that could adapt to
existing premise networks. It could
serve as a “master STB” for all TVs and
PCs.

Additional Slides
Global Converging’s gateway was like a
cordless phone base station acting as a
home PBX.

Additional Slides
When I discovered Savoy’s CyberHouse,
I was impressed with its Client/Server
architecture, where the system itself
could be contained in a server device
(PC, security panel, etc), with access
from any client device (PC, PCTV,
phone, etc).
Type Managers, like device drivers,
could be written to expand support to
any new device or protocol.
I eventually convinced IBM to rewrite
Savoy’s user interface and include their
software in IBM HomeDirector but was
disappointed that IBM never exploited
Savoy’s extensibility.
IBM spun off HomeDirector as a
separate company aimed at selling a
structured wiring system into high-end
new homes. In my view, they missed an
opportunity to capture the much larger
retrofit market.

Additional Slides
Central & Southwest Communications
was an early gateway manufacturers.
Their first deployment of a low-speed
utility gateway in Laredo, TX served as a
test-bed for extremes of heat and dust
and for customer support of Spanish-
speaking customers.
When the City of Austin issues an RFP
for city-wide fiber optic infrastructure,
IBM and CSW partnered on a response.
In the end, however, powerful lobbyists
from Southwestern Bell (which acquired
AT&T and took their name) convinced
the legislature to outlaw municipally
owned network infrastructure.
Years later, I joined with consumer
advocates to defeat a bill that would
have also made it illegal for
municipalities to install their own Wi-Fi
networks.

Additional Slides
IBM was one of several companies
doing development and working on
standards for several different wireless
technologies, including Bluetooth,
HomeRF, and Wi-Fi. I represented IBM
in the HomeRF Working Group and
served as Marketing Chairman.

Additional Slides
This conceptual chart shows the
impact of pushing on market drivers
and addressing market inhibitors to
cause forecasted outcomes to occur
earlier. The benefits of such initiatives
can be huge!

Additional Slides
I represented IBM in TR41.5, a
Residential Gateway standards
subcommittee of the EIA/TIA.
These last slides are from a
presentation I gave on OSGi, another
standards initiative the IBM was
involved in.
The Open Services Gateway Initiative
focused on the software/middleware
part of gateway standards.

Additional Slides
involved in.
Good times. This particular chart
brings back memories since it was a
collaborative effort between me and
Bellcore’s Paul Schumate during a
discussion that occurred during an
earlier TR41.5 meeting.

Additional Slides
involved in.
NOTE that the RF architecture shows
Access Network modules plugging into
the left side of the RG, and Premises
Network modules plugging into the
right side. In actuality, the connections
are on the bottom and plug into
whatever side of the gateway that the
manufacturer allows.

Inter|section gateways

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (8)

Ähnlich wie Inter|section gateways

Ähnlich wie Inter|section gateways (20)

Mehr von Wayne Caswell

Mehr von Wayne Caswell (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Inter|section gateways