R&D Spirits
IP-VPN Service Platform Development for the
Personal Market
Junichi Murayama
Senior Research Engineer
Secure Communication ProjectNTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories

The Secure Communication Project at NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories isdevoted to developing a next-generation IP-VPN (Internet protocol virtual private network) service platform. To find out how IP-VPN technology is evolving in the broadband era and what
type of business it enables, we talked with senior research engineer Junichi Murayama, a member of the Secure Communication Project.

Achieving compatibility between expanded
bandwidth and expanded number of sites
with high cost performance

concentrates on creating the “glue” to hold various
technologies together.
—What are your specific objectives here?

—Mr. Murayama, please tell us about your current
research now taking place in the Secure Communication Project.
We are working on the development of a next-generation Internet protocol virtual private network (IPVPN) service platform (Figs. 1 and 2). IP-VPN services provide group-oriented virtual broadband networks for corporate and other uses. Because IP
addresses within a group can be allocated as desired,these services allow greater freedom in IP network
design, and because access from outside the group is,in principle, prohibited, secure communications canbe achieved. In addition, the provision of a physicalplatform shared by multiple IP-VPNs provides outstanding cost performance compared with using
leased lines. However, the conventional IP-VPN
architecture is inferior to the Internet architecture interms of scalability. Our aim, therefore, is to provide
IP-VPN services that can accommodate more users. I
need to point out here that our research is notobsessed with specific elemental technologies. We
are more concerned with combining the latest communication technologies in an optimal manner toachieve our objectives. In other words, our research6

Our two main objectives are increasing the numberof service sites to accommodate more users andexpanding bandwidth between service sites to enablesmooth broadband communications. Currently, themaximum number of provider edge routers that connects service sites with a service provider network is
about 100, but our goal is to increase this by one orderof magnitude. And for bandwidth, we aim to increase
the current Gbit/s-class capacity by three orders ofmagnitude to the Tbit/s-class capacity.
—What technologies are you focusing on?
Considering an optimal mechanism for our objectives, we are focusing on three main technologies.
The first of these is called “provider-provisioned virtual private network (PPVPN),” a basic technology
for forming virtual private networks. This technology
is combined with generalized multiprotocol label
switching (GMPLS), an optical communication technology, and Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6), thenext-generation of IP technology. In short, we have“cherry picked” technologies. GMPLS excels in
forming broadband communications between two
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R&D Spirits

IP-VPN service platform(Provider network)

Service sites

Service sites

Default forwarder(Multi-layer hub)Enterprise network

Enterprise network
Provideredge
router

Provideredge
routerPC

PC

Server

Secure virtual network(PPVPN-based customer network)

Head office site
Home network

Video camera
Video recorderHome site

Home network

Secure virtual network(PPVPN-based customer network)

Air conditioner

PC

Branch office sitePC
(IP in IPv6)

Broadband optical network(GMPLS-based provider network)(IP in IPv6)

Scalable electrical network(IPv6-based provider network)

Hot spot

Cellular phone

Remote access site

Fig. 1. Overview of the IP-VPN service platform.

Fig. 2. Prototype system.

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R&D Spirits

Traffic information
Default forwarder

Key device to achieve
high performance
Network
control
serverAccesstraffic

Provideredge router
VFI

Hub
VFI

Key device to achieve high scalability

Hub
VFI

Connectionless forwarding

IPv6 router

Triggering GMPLS
signaling to set up
cut-through opticalpaths

Hub-and-spoke optical paths
achieving high scalability(economical communication)

VFI

Accesstraffic

Provideredge router
VFI

VFI

Accesstraffic

VFI

Optical
GMPLS
router:Fiber cable

VFI

Provideredge router

Optical
GMPLS
routerOptical
GMPLS
routerCut-through optical pathachieving high performance(broadband communication)
GMPLS-based provider network

Provideredge router
VFI

Accesstraffic

VFI

IPv6-based provider network
PPVPN-based IP-VPNs (customer networks)
VFI: VPN forwarding instanceFig. 3. Architecture of the IP-VPN service platform.

service sites but is not as structurally or economically effective as IPv6 in network expansion, while IPv6
excels at increasing the number of service sites but is
not as adept as optical systems in achieving broadband connections. The main point here, however, is
combining the technologies that we have picked in
the best way. In brief, we do this by first configuring
an effective network for increasing the number of service sites based on IPv6, and using provider edge
routers to convert to IPv6 and transfer packets regardless of what protocol users are using. This approach
can be scaled up in the same manner as today’s Internet. Next, using a process that automatically identifies inter-site links with heavy traffic based on
addresses of IPv6 packets passing through relay
routers, we set up optical paths by GMPLS to expand
bandwidth. Here, by having IPv6 ensure reachability
among all service sites and by deploying optical path
only when and where needed, we can satisfy therequired performance in terms of both capacity andcost (Fig. 3).
By the way, for readers interested in these technologies, they will be described in more detail in the
March 2004 issue of this periodical.

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Promoting leading research in home
networks—What can this platform technology be used for?
First, it can be used to enhance current businessapplications. As I mentioned earlier, IP-VPN is
extremely secure, which means that it can be used
like leased lines but with lower fees. We therefore
envision IP-VPN spreading beyond major corporate
users like financial institutions to medium and small
enterprises. We are also aiming to apply this technology to personal applications such as home networks
by improving network scalability. Since the businessmarket is essentially limited, our group would love totake up the challenge of the personal market.
—What do you think this research will bring forththree and five years from now?
At present, network functions are incorporated inhome electronic products, but in about three years
from now, we expect to see the initial use of genuine
home networks that allow network functions to becontrolled automatically and remotely. This shouldmake many things possible. For example, a user
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should be able to use a personal computer or cellular
phone as a terminal to monitor rooms in the family’shouse from a remote location by means of video
images, or turn on the air conditioner before returninghome and set rooms to a comfortable temperature, oreven prepare a hot bath. Of course, some of these are
already possible over the Internet, but security issues
must also be considered in addition to what is technically possible. If a third-party can eavesdrop on video
images taken by a home security camera, there is notmuch sense in installing such a system. Using IPVPN technology to create a personal network canprovide secure and worry-free network use. In about
five years time, we foresee the spread of home networks accelerating.
—Could you tell us something about domestic andinternational trends in research of this kind?
First of all, standardization of the three main technologies that I described earlier is progressing
through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Although I myself am not directly involved in the
research of these technologies or associated standardization activities, many of my colleagues at NTT aremaking contributions. Because we are more concerned with optimizing the combination of thesetechnologies than with the technologies themselves,
our research is not being pursued much elsewhere. In
fact, I think we are the only research project working
to link IP-VPN to home networks with a focus ons e c u r i t y. W h y a r e t h e r e s o f e w c o m p e t i n gresearchers? One reason might be that research
efforts around the world are still concentrating on elemental technologies like GMPLS making it difficultat this stage to envision how they might be combined.
In other words, our research aims to stay one or two
steps ahead of current world research in this area.
NTT, by the way, is also conducting research on elemental technologies that can provide the researcher
with useful tools. Our group is working in an environment that makes it easy to determine the natureand direction of technology development and thatprovides support for cutting-edge research.

Creating ideal conditions for developing“technology that makes a difference”—an industry-wide issue—How did research of IP-VPN for the personal market begin at NTT?

Vol. 1 No. 9 Dec. 2003

Well, despite the fact that NTT was the first to commercialize IP-VPN services, the market has since
become extremely competitive among telecom
providers, so we felt the need to expand the market in
new directions. We thought that developing “technology that makes a difference” to improve scalability
and create personal applications like home networks
would be an effective strategy for coming out a winner in this market.
—What research have you been personally involved
with up to now?
In my university days, I was interested in semiconductor devices as the foundation for electronics technologies, and seeing that the nanotechnology era wascoming, I became involved in research dealing withthe shrinking of LSI feature dimensions. Then, after
entering NTT and finding myself in the research laboratories of a leading carrier, my interests shifted tosearching out untapped capabilities in the applicationof LSIs, and the target of my research became networks. At this time, network research was heavily
focused on ATM technology with the aim of achieving broadband communications. Its underlying mechanism, however, was surprisingly complex, and for a
newcomer like me, it did not appear very practical. I
consequently had the idea that ATM technology
could be used for providing diversified services as
opposed to broadband connections.
The platform that we initially developed had functions for providing a variety of services. These
included IP-VPN services as well as Internet services, extranet services, quality guarantee services,and multicast services. The technology that we
employed here was geared to achieving NTT’s visionat the time of “global mega-media networks,” or
GMN, and was therefore called GMN-connectionlesstechnology, or GMN-CL. Of the services provided by
GMN-CL, IP-VPN received high praise in particular,
but to tell the truth, it was not very popular at first. IPVPN began to attract attention a bit later, especiallywhen overseas vendors began to independently develop routers for providing IP-VPN services. Our technology, which preceded theirs, was actually superior,and because it was particularly applicable to corporate networks, it came to be deployed at four companies in the NTT Group where it continues to be used.
This was a milestone in IP-VPN service provision.
The goal of our current research, meanwhile, is totake IP-VPN into the optical era through the use of
GMPLS technology. For me, it’s been a real pleasure
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to expand upon a single research theme since coming
to NTT.
—Is there anything that particularly stands out
among your research experiences?
Yes. When researching GMN-CL, I found thatproviders and vendors took different approaches tothe development of new functions for routers. Thisdifference was most visible with vendors having
brand recognition. For example, while a provider
would like to add original functions to differentiate
their services from those of other providers, a vendor
would like to sell mass-produced routers with thesame functions to many providers to save on development and maintenance costs. Also, when adding
functions to a router, providers do not particularly
like to disclose their specifications while vendors
favor standardization to generate good public relations and improve brand recognition. In short,providers and vendors do not necessarily have thesame expectations. In addition, while the provider
side consists of many operators each trying to carveout a niche in the business, the vendor side consists ofname-brand enterprises having huge shares of themarket. Under these circumstances, it’s inevitablethat leadership resides on the vendor side.
Researchers on the provider side are consequently
concerned that this will make it difficult for providers
to differentiate their services and lead to unreasonable price competition. To prevent this from happening and to develop greater cooperation between
providers and vendors, one solution, I think, would be
programmable routers that providers could customize
as desired.
—How would you like to see this research develop in
the coming years?
As part of our goal of creating home networks, I
would like to see our research evolve to a point where
it can help enrich our personal lifestyles. For example, I love to travel for taking pictures, and during
travels, I would like to monitor my home by means ofvideo images in order to check security. On the other
hand, even when I am in home, I think it would begreat to be able to direct a real-time view of a desired
location through my home television as a sort of interior design. A network that can make such things possible is something that I would love to be a part of.
Honestly speaking, however, I don’t know if our cur-10rent research will make that happen. Such a network
will probably be the result of other research fields
such as elemental technologies. But that’s fine—I’msure that we will be able to contribute to its development in some form. We also would not mind taking
on new issues or challenges that may appear.

Meeting outside expectations as part of NTT
Laboratories’ mission—How do you think NTT Laboratories appears to theworld though its research activities to date?
Two things come to mind. First, as a carrier’s
research center, I think people would like to see ongoing creation and development of new service markets.
For us researchers, it is important that we provide
research results that can meet this need. Second, there
are some people who would like to see disclosure of
the vast amount of network know-how that NTT has
accumulated, especially for collaborative purposes.
To this end, it might be necessary to collect our technology in textbook form as done by name-brand vendors and to provide genuine disclosure on our Web
pages or elsewhere.
—Could you please tell us your personal aspirations
for the future?
In the short term, I would like to pursue research
directly related to business as an extension of my current work. In the long term, however, I would like toshift from research for developing competitive technology to original research for developing new service markets. Furthermore, as a researcher, I would
love to see technology that I myself have created finduse in the real world. Research results that come to be
used widely in society will no doubt become standardized technology. For example, I am very interested in researching the programmable routers that I
mentioned earlier. Whatever the future holds, I feelthat it will be a change in direction for me.
—What is it like working at NTT Laboratories?
In my research life up to now, I have been supported by many people, and I think it is because of themthat I have achieved more than would have been possible with my own abilities alone. In this sense, NTT
Laboratories is an “amplifier” of one’s abilities.
Working here has been a golden opportunity!

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Interviewee profile■ Career highlights
Junichi Murayama received the B.E. and M.E.
degrees in electronics and communication engineeringfrom Waseda University, Tokyo in 1989 and 1991,
respectively. Since joining NTT in 1991, he has been
engaged in research and development of large-scale IP
networks and IP-VPN service platforms. He is now asenior research engineer in the Secure Communication
Project of NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories. He is a member of the Institute of Electronics,
Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE).
■ Major awards
The award of the technical group of information net-

Vol. 1 No. 9 Dec. 2003

works, IEICE, 1998, “IN97-39: Design of a global networking service platform”.
The award of the technical group of information networks, IEICE, 2000, “IN98-133: Designing an intranetworking architecture for a global networking
service platform”.
NTT President’s Award, 2000, “Development of nextgeneration IP networking technologies (GMN-CL)”.
■ Publications“The Latest Broadband Textbook Vol. 2 (in Japanese)”, coauthor, ISBN 4-87280-489-9, IDG Japan,
October, 2003.

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